Chapter 61

  The Second House is really big, with several mansions just for the servants. Because it's located at the back, it occupies the most mountainous land, so it has the most houses on the mountain. Especially the last one, the Wind Pavilion, which is three stories high and can be seen from afar without having to go to the Jin family house. It's considered a landmark of the Jin family.

  The Second House also has a five-courtyard structure, with most of the houses being stacked up in a "?" shape. The main house is located at the third courtyard, occupying almost all of the flat land of the Second House. The houses are said to have been renovated two years ago, but walking on the ancient stone road, one can't help but feel that there's a kind of oppressive and heavy atmosphere in this group of ancient buildings.

  This is completely different from the three-courtyard small house where she lived in Linqing. Living here feels like having to bear the sorrowful and tragic legacy of the Jin family, while living in Linqing was a free and comfortable little house.

  Xian Yi's clothes were slightly tense, although in her previous life she was half-believing and half-doubting about the existence of ghosts. However, since she crossed over, she had an 80% belief in spirits, and even had a different kind of reverence for some religious beliefs here. The house in Lin Qing was okay, although it was also a second-hand house, but at least it was new and no one had died there, and it was just an ordinary residential house with a small area. But the house of the Heng City Jin family was at least a hundred years old, how many people had lived here, how many people had died here, Xian Yi thought about it and felt her scalp tingling. Moreover, the two old masters had passed away at a young age, and this place had not been inhabited by its owners for a long time, even after renovation, Xian Yi could see the desolation and bleakness of this place.

  "But don't you want to live in the main house?" Jin Fenghua suddenly asked, standing beside Xian Yi.

  Xian Yi's face turned slightly pale as she nodded: "Perhaps I'm just timid, but this place feels too quiet and too vast."

  Jin Fenghua took her hand and smiled: "As a younger generation, we can't live in the main house. There is a house next to the distant wind building on the mountain, built by the forest, with a small stream flowing through it, forming a waterside pavilion. The wild tea flowers surround the four sides, and the scenery is very moving. That place was originally built for the second old master as a reward for his marriage, but after it was built, the second old master didn't have time to live there before he died on the battlefield. The whole second house, only that place is newly built, and no one has lived there for many years. A few days ago, I came over and took care of it, thinking it should be suitable."

  Xian Yi let out a soft breath, though she didn't know if it was just a coincidence, but she still felt the thoughtfulness of Jin Fenghua.

  "Yu Ge'er doesn't even know if he's awake or not, and just now didn't see the elders, it was impolite." Xian Yi actually didn't want the child to meet these strangers either, even though they were elders, but after all, there was no blood relationship. This Jin Fu is deep in water, adults are fine, but if children are used, regret will come too late.

  Jin Fenghua said with a nonchalant tone, "It's just a child, whether we meet or not isn't that important anymore. We can make up for it later, besides... he's not even a child of the Jin family from Heng City."

  Xian Yi's heart ached for a moment. Not only was Yu Ge not the child of the Heng City Jin family, but even Jin Fenghua was not a blood relative of the Heng City Jin family. To the Jin family members, they were all outsiders, suddenly appearing and forcibly joining their ranks as plunderers. Probably except for the Third Elder, no one would be willing to let an outsider inherit the Second Elder's entire fortune.

  The sedan chair stopped, and the two of them went to the main house's wing room to take a look at Yu Ge'er, who had already woken up from sleep. Hu Po and the wet nurse were together keeping an eye on the child, and when they saw Xian Yi and the others come in, they all came over to pay their respects. At this time, there was an old man outside who asked Guan Qi to come in and talk, saying that it was the second house's old steward who had specially come to pay his respects to Jin Fenghua. Jin Fenghua didn't want to let the whole family live in the main house, so he took a few people out of the wing room, and then had someone bring over the sedan chair, letting Xian Yi and the wet nurse holding the child sit on it, while he himself walked over to see the old steward who hadn't shown his face last time.

  The old steward was indeed advanced in years, he was one of the young servants of Old Master Two back then, and also the son of the steward of this courtyard back then. Back then, there were two young servants by Old Master Two's side, one followed him to the border, while he was forced to stay in the mansion because his family had only one heir. He thought that when Old Master Two returned, they would continue their master-servant relationship, but unexpectedly, Old Master Two never came back at a young age, and even the companions who went together at that time all died on the battlefield, leaving him alone to guard the mansion, inheriting his father's stewardship. He has been doing this until old age, now his grandson is about to get married.

  The old steward, surnamed Yan, had thought that he would spend the rest of his life guarding the old mansion, but he did not expect that after so many years, the third old master still remembered to continue the incense for the second old master. Due to the scarcity of descendants in the Jin family, they could only find a son from a distant branch with some blood relation to the ancestors. Steward Yan was not a clever person, but he was not foolish either. Although he did not like that the descendant they found had thin blood ties, he also knew that if there were no more descendants at this time, then once the third old master died, the old mansion he had spent his life guarding would be lost forever. Perhaps, after a few more generations, it was possible that not only would the second old master have no one to make offerings to him, but also that later generations might not even remember this ancestor who was loyal and righteous in his youth.

  However, now that the house has been temporarily preserved, but Manager Yan cannot put all his hopes on the new young master. After all, people's hearts are unpredictable, and Jin Fenghua is just a concubine-born son, it's really hard for Manager Yan to feel at ease handing over the family business to him, he needs to observe for a while before making further plans.

  "Master, where is this...?" Manager Yan found it strange, they were already in the main house, where else could they be going?

  Jin Fenghua said without a hint of arrogance, "I heard from my third grandfather that our family's old master likes this main courtyard the most. Moreover, I'm just a young master who has not experienced much, and this main house is not for me to live in. When I have a promising future and bring glory to our family, I'll move in with a thick face, which can be considered as a reward from our old master to his grandson who came halfway."

  One sentence made the strict manager feel very relieved, Jin Fenghua neither called the old master "grandfather" with familiarity nor kept a distance from him. The old master listened to it more like a nickname, and Jin Fenghua was modest and humble, with a gentleman's demeanor, which reduced several points of the strict manager's disdain for Jin Fenghua's overly beautiful appearance like a woman. Moreover, this young man had the same determination and courage as the old master in his youth, even if he was adopted here, he was not arrogant or condescending, calm and composed, and did not fawn on him because the strict manager had been here all along, nor did he despise him for being a slave. Maybe this new young master will have a good future.

  "Where is Young Master going?" General Manager Yan's expression eased slightly.

  "Earlier, I had someone repair the houses near the Windy Pavilion, we lived there, it just so happened that the scenery was beautiful and quiet, with few people, making it a great place to read. In a little while, after we've settled in, we'll come back to burn incense for Master."

  "Old slave still thought that young master was going to avoid the heat..." Manager Yan originally thought that Jin Fenghua was a short-sighted person, who hadn't even stood firm in the Jin family yet and was thinking about luxurious enjoyment. But he didn't expect it to be his own petty heart. At this time, he unconsciously felt his old face flush with anger, and his dissatisfaction with Jin Fenghua decreased by several points. "That mansion has been repaired, all according to young master's ideas, and a stone path was specially built from the mountain to the small ancestral hall. Let them bring young master down in a moment."

  "Then thank you, General Yan." Jin Fenghua bowed and said.

  "I don't dare, I don't dare." Manager Yan awkwardly bowed his head, feeling even more uncomfortable in his heart.

  After bidding farewell to the butler, Jin Fenghua also got into the sedan chair and headed upwards. Although it was only halfway up the mountain, the bearers' footsteps were swift, and the road wasn't too far, so soon Xian Yi felt the sedan come to a stop. As she stepped out of the vehicle, she stood still outside, gazing at the dense, towering trees and the various wildflowers, even spotting rabbits darting from beneath the wall. The entire mansion was nestled deep within the mountains and wilderness.

  The mansion's exterior walls and gates were adorned with intricate wooden carvings and prints, and Xian Yi could see the three-story glazed tile tower not far away, its eight corners hung with copper wind chimes that softly rang in the breeze. Without even entering the mansion, Xian Yi could sense how extraordinary it was, as if it had a unique charm and clever design. She even felt a strange illusion, as if this place was no longer part of the Jin family's estate, but rather the dwelling of mountain spirits.

  "Come on in."

  Golden Wind let the people open the carved door, and did not prepare to continue sitting in the sedan chair. Instead, he brought Xian Yi and others to stroll along the long corridor. These have different layouts from other houses. Even the courtyard that just entered is not regular, and some houses are built without being square due to the terrain. It is said that the entire house has five entrances, all of which are connected by corridors. Because from the second entrance, a small lake lies in the mansion, with snow water from the top of the mountain flowing into the lake, and then through the creek stone ditch in the fourth entrance, flowing towards the other side of the mountain. Xian Yi walked along the way and saw at least three waterside pavilions, as well as some wooden buildings and stone caves built by the water, which can be seen as a good place for vacation and leisure.

  The fourth courtyard was probably the most well-organized in the entire mansion. Jin Fenghua led Xianyi into the largest suite, and as soon as they entered, there was a pond with an artificial waterfall, followed by a garden behind it. Xianyi walked across the stone bridge and only felt like she had truly arrived when she reached the backyard. By this time, she was already exhausted from walking and wondered if the other two elderly masters' residences were also so frighteningly large. The third elderly master was already quite old, and it was unknown whether he had ever walked through the entire Jin mansion.

  "Let's have all our people serve in the front yard, and when the time comes, I'll let General Yan send a few people up, and the others will be sent down the mountain to the old house to wait for further arrangements." The back courtyard is dominated by women, and Jin Fenghua also hopes that Xian Yi can establish some prestige in front of the slaves, so as to avoid difficulties in managing the back courtyard in the future.

  "Is Director Yan trustworthy?" Xian Yi's heart felt a bit uneasy, in her past life she had seen many palace struggles and some people would dare to do anything for the sake of benefits.

  "In this household, he's probably the most reliable one. He's an old man who has been by Old Master's side for a long time. He's also very clear that if I were to disappear, then Old Master would truly have nothing left. How could Jin Fenghua not have investigated before adopting him? Who is useful, who can only be temporarily allied with, who needs to be guarded against, and who needs to be gotten rid of early on - he had all these memorized in his heart long ago. He's an old hand at this sort of thing, after all; he couldn't very well tarnish the reputation of his ancestors."